I was so excited by the cover and the plot summary but I just didn't connect with the read, I wish I could say that I enjoyed it more but perhaps I wasn't the right audience.
This story tells, in alternative chapters, the story of Ambrosia Wellington's freshman year at Wesleyan College as well as her life 10 years later at her college reunion. Ambrosia is now married to a loving husband and is no longer in contact with anyone she went to college with. In those days, she had a sweet roommate, Flora, and a wild and manipulative best friend, Sully. Current day, she doesn't seem to want to go to the reunion, never mind think of the events of her freshman year. But, she is getting personal notes that seem to know she did something terrible and the person writing them wants to talk about what happened. The novel is spent in both flashbacks describing the first few months of her college life and also current events as she tries to keep all of the events and secrets hidden while discovering who knows those secrets and is bent on confronting her.
I love a good psychological thriller and some bad female characters but I just didn't feel connected to this book until the very end. I had a difficult time getting through it. The flashback scenes were full of very graphic detail and seemed gratuitous to me. I felt like, for me, I needed the current Ambrosia fleshed out more, I don't mind mean and self serving but I want to see motivation. I don't have to like the character, but I need to see her, I wanted more depth. But who I really got to know was a 19 year old girl and I felt more like I was reading a slightly older YA novel about private school mean girls who are completely out of control. I wanted more from young Ambrosia, but it was party, rinse, be mean, repeat. So I feel like this maybe just wasn't my niche read but may appeal well to a different audience!
Now the end started to get my attention but unfortunately I saw most of it coming and wasn't connected enough to feel compelled by it. But, it was twisty and turned things upside down and gave Ambrosia some new growth so that was good.
This story tells, in alternative chapters, the story of Ambrosia Wellington's freshman year at Wesleyan College as well as her life 10 years later at her college reunion. Ambrosia is now married to a loving husband and is no longer in contact with anyone she went to college with. In those days, she had a sweet roommate, Flora, and a wild and manipulative best friend, Sully. Current day, she doesn't seem to want to go to the reunion, never mind think of the events of her freshman year. But, she is getting personal notes that seem to know she did something terrible and the person writing them wants to talk about what happened. The novel is spent in both flashbacks describing the first few months of her college life and also current events as she tries to keep all of the events and secrets hidden while discovering who knows those secrets and is bent on confronting her.
I love a good psychological thriller and some bad female characters but I just didn't feel connected to this book until the very end. I had a difficult time getting through it. The flashback scenes were full of very graphic detail and seemed gratuitous to me. I felt like, for me, I needed the current Ambrosia fleshed out more, I don't mind mean and self serving but I want to see motivation. I don't have to like the character, but I need to see her, I wanted more depth. But who I really got to know was a 19 year old girl and I felt more like I was reading a slightly older YA novel about private school mean girls who are completely out of control. I wanted more from young Ambrosia, but it was party, rinse, be mean, repeat. So I feel like this maybe just wasn't my niche read but may appeal well to a different audience!
Now the end started to get my attention but unfortunately I saw most of it coming and wasn't connected enough to feel compelled by it. But, it was twisty and turned things upside down and gave Ambrosia some new growth so that was good.